The Vietnam AI Innovation Challenge (VAIC) 2026 took place from 17 to 19/7 at the FPT Building in Pham Van Bach, Hanoi. The competition brought together hundreds of contestants from diverse backgrounds, including students new to AI, technology engineers, startups developing products, and international teams offering new perspectives on artificial intelligence.

A common goal among all participants was to solve practical problems posed by businesses using AI.

Team IA20 KKK presented an AI solution for personalized education, aiming to create individual learning paths for students. Their solution uses AI to analyze learning progress, identify knowledge gaps for each student, and suggest appropriate learning paths. The system also supports teachers in monitoring class progress with data, rather than relying only on periodic tests.

Nguyen Phuong Nam (25), the team's representative, stated that all challenges originated from real-world needs, not just technological ideas. "The challenges have high applicability. Mentors worked closely with us, enabling the team to complete the product in a short time", Nam said.

Nguyen Phuong Nam - representative of team IA20 KKK. Photo: Vietnam AI Innovation Challenge organizing committee.

For Nam, the competition's greatest value was not the prize, but the chance to refine their product after the hackathon. He believes that if developed correctly, this solution could become a useful tool for teachers, especially with increasing class sizes and a growing demand for personalized learning.

Han Duc Duy (23), representative of team VAMOS SSI, chose to address market needs. His team is developing an AI platform capable of analyzing needs, helping startups, businesses, and investors connect more quickly. According to Duy, in reality, startups often spend significant time finding the right partners, relying heavily on existing relationships. Therefore, his team aims to use AI to shorten this process and expand collaboration opportunities for all parties involved.

Han Duc Duy (far right) and his teammates. Photo: Vietnam AI Innovation Challenge organizing committee.

Beyond domestic teams, VAIC 2026 also attracted international contestants with different approaches. Victor, a member of the Vibe Vikings team from Sweden, chose to develop a data management solution for training large language models (LLMs). According to Victor, for AI to understand Vietnamese effectively, quality data is crucial. Therefore, the team focused on building a well-organized data system to support more efficient model training.

"If you want to build a language model that understands not only English but also Vietnamese, you first need a well-organized data system for the training process", Victor said. What impressed Victor was not only the challenges but also how the competition was run. He appreciated that mentors directly supported teams throughout the hackathon, helping to adjust product development directions as needed. The Vibe Vikings team viewed VAIC 2026 as an opportunity to access a new language and data market, and to test how AI can adapt to different local contexts.

Victor and his teammates at the Vietnam AI Innovation Challenge 2026. Photo: Vietnam AI Innovation Challenge organizing committee.

The competition also featured Generation Y participants, including Hoang Hai Yen, representative of the Vietnam AI Hacker Team. According to Hai Yen, AI truly creates value only when it addresses societal needs. Her team aimed to select challenging problems, create marketable products, and deliver practical value for businesses, teachers, and students.

Hoang Hai Yen - representative of the Vietnam AI Hacker Team. Photo: Vietnam AI Innovation Challenge organizing committee.

The organizing committee noted that after 48 continuous hours of work, VAIC 2026 not only produced refined AI product prototypes but also fostered connections: between startups and businesses, students and experts, and domestic and international teams. The competition became a meeting point for ideas stemming from practical needs and the resources available to help implement them.

In the final results, team L-GPT 6.7 secured the championship of VAIC 2026 with their project "Lawgic - Legal Analysis with Graph-Integrated Awareness". The next two positions went to teams Genation and SenAI. In addition to the three main awards, the organizing committee and partners like SHB, Meta, AI Singapore, FPT AI Factory, AVSE Global, and Vietnam AI Stars also presented numerous specialized awards to support teams in further product development and connecting with the domestic and international AI ecosystem.

Yen Chi